Fireflies, the kind of creatures that can make people unconsciously yearn for just by seeing the name, have long been synonymous with summer. "The summer moon, rotten grass is a firefly", although it is only a beautiful misunderstanding, it has long been deeply rooted in our minds.
Now we know that fireflies are definitely not decomposed by rotten grass, but because they are accustomed to laying eggs at the grass roots at the water's edge, the larvae lie in the soil, and the next year they pupate into adults, so they are mistaken by the ancients for the changes of the rotting grass itself.
In some Japanese cultures, fireflies do not have a good reputation, and even vaguely hint at ominousness, but why are fireflies almost everywhere in many Japanese literary works, songs, films and television works?
In the Tale of Genji, known as "Dream of the Red Chamber in Japan", the Twenty-fifth Hotaru describes a scene in which the Hikari clan knows that Hyobe Seisei has a crush on Tamae (the daughter of Yu Yan), and in order to give him a glimpse of Tama's appearance, many fireflies are hidden in the bag and released in a dark room. Under the faint light of the fireflies, the appearance and posture of the jade beard showed grace, and the admiration of the Bingbu Qing palace deepened.
But there are always things you don't know, and before the Heian period, fireflies were always objects of fear. According to the Nihon Shoki, the glow of fireflies is used to describe evil gods, because they emit a ghostly glow at night and look like ghost fire.
Gradually, in the early days of Peace, perhaps under the influence of widely circulated Chinese poetry, fireflies became synonymous with beauty and sensuality. The beautiful picture scrolls of "silver candle autumn light cold painting screen, light luo small fan fluttering fireflies", and the story of "sac fluorescent snow" have contributed to the positive image of fireflies. In the literature of the Heian period, fireflies also appeared many times.
Some people believe that the plot design of "The Tale of Genji" to spy on women through the light of fireflies is inspired by "sac fireflies reflecting snow". Because this story changed the Japanese people's attitude towards the glow of fireflies, there was a classic scene in literature.
In addition, there is a word in Japanese called "Keisetsu-jidadi", which literally means "the age of fireflies and snow", which refers to the days when students studied hard in the cold window, and it is also a story that originated from "sac fireflies reflecting snow". There is also "Keisetsu no kou", which means "the result of diligent study".
"Light of the Fireflies" is probably one of the most popular Japanese songs, people usually sing this song at graduation ceremonies, event closing ceremonies and farewell moments such as the end of the year, and Antlers Network feels that it seems to be about equal to "Unforgettable Tonight" in the hearts of Chinese.
The original song is from the Scottish folk song "Auld Lang Syne", which literally translates into English as "old long since", meaning "times gone by", translated as Chinese is "friendship lasts forever", without mentioning fireflies at all, but the poetic Japanese word matches the melody of the song in some way.
However, the Japanese stereotype of the glow of the fireflies has not been completely erased, which has been alluded to in the 1988 animated film Tomb of the Fireflies. The hope of the two brothers and sisters in the flying fireflies was buried in the soil the next day, and the shadowy firefly image in the film also exuded a sad sigh. In fact, the glow of fireflies is also considered a modified form of the soul of soldiers who lost their lives in the war.
In Japan, watching fireflies on hot summer nights has become a traditional activity. But fireflies only inhabit clean streams, and in recent years environmental pollution has been decreasing. Because fireflies are sensitive to their environmental response, they are used as environmental indicators. The sharp decline in the number of fireflies reflects the reality that human activities are constantly deteriorating the natural environment.
There is also an interesting new word in Japanese related to fireflies, "hotaru-zoku", which refers to husbands who are forced to smoke outside. There are many tall apartment blocks in the city, often with small balconies. From a distance, the light points of the cigarettes that flickered on and off outside the curtains resembled the glow of fireflies.
The phrase "Fireflies can make you meet the people you miss the most" in "Fireflies Star" must have also made your heart ripple; "Firefly Forest", adapted from the Midorikawa Yuki manga, once earned me countless tears. The rendering of beautiful legends and literary works interacts with the place of fireflies in Japanese culture, and the other side is also closely related to Japan's culture of mourning. If you are also interested, welcome to discuss with Antlers Network.